Shah Rukh Khan detained at US airport, diplomat apologises

New Delhi/Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan said he was detained at a US airport following which a senior US diplomat of Indian origin apologised.

“I fully understand and respect security with the way the world is, but to be detained at US immigration every damn time really really sucks,” Shah Rukh said in a tweet posted on Friday morning (IST).

Following this, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Biswal tweeted: “Sorry for the hassle at the airport, @iamsrk – even American diplomats get pulled for extra screening!”

Precise details of when and why the superstar was detained were not known. But Bollywood sources have said the actor was in Los Angeles.

On a positive note, Shah Rukh Khan wrote: “The brighter side is while waiting caught some really nice Pokemons.”

This is not the first time that Shah Rukh, one of Hindi film industry’s most successful stars, was detained at a US airport.

In 2012, he was detained at a New York airport for two hours when he had arrived to visit Yale University, where he was honoured as a Chubb Fellow.

In 2009, he was stopped at the Newark Airport, New Jersey, and was released after two hours at the intervention of the Indian consulate in New York.

“I was really hassled at the American Airport because of my name being Khan. It was absolutely uncalled for. I felt angry and humiliated,” said Shah Rukh, who was then heading towards Chicago to participate in an Independence Day celebration event.

“It is a Muslim name and I think the name is common on their checklist,” he had then said.